1.14.2005

A reality shot from the heartland

Magicians and politicians share one common talent - the ability to deceive you by misdirecting your attention on what is really happening by focusing on the less important. The Bush administration's current rush to privatize Social Security and put this country a couple of trillion dollars deeper in debt is a prime example.

Social Security is not the problem, folks. The real crisis is health care that promises to add another 10 million Americans to the 42 million already without any kind of health insurance at all. The challenge for government is Medicaid and Medicare, not Social Security.

The big threat is that clinics and hospitals, particularly in rural areas, are drowning in a sea of sometimes ridiculous charges for health care that the patients never will be able to pay. This is compounded by the gross overcharging of the patients and insurance companies that can and do pay.

If I make one prediction this year on which I am willing to wager my own money, it is this: The Bush plan to reform Social Security will not happen, even with his clear Republican majority in Congress. Every thinking Republican congressperson recognizes the dangers of allowing Social Security funds from American workers to flow into the stock market, particularly in this less-than-stable time in economic history . . .